Method and apparatus for cartridge-based carbonation of beverages

ABSTRACT

Systems, methods and cartridges for carbonating or otherwise dissolving gas in a precursor liquid, such as water, to form a beverage are disclosed. A gas source, which is used to generate gas that is dissolved into the precursor liquid, and/or a beverage medium, such as a powdered drink mix or liquid syrup, may be provided in a cartridge. The use of one or more cartridges for the gas source and/or beverage medium may make for an easy to use and mess-free system for making sparkling beverages, e.g., in the consumer&#39;s home.

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional application No.62/048,095, filed Sep. 9, 2014.

BACKGROUND

The inventions described herein relate to dissolving gas in liquids,e.g., carbonation, for use in preparing a beverage. Systems forcarbonating liquids and/or mixing liquids with a beverage medium to forma beverage are described in a wide variety of publications, includingU.S. Pat. Nos. 4,025,655, 4,040,342; 4,636,337; 6,712,342 and 5,182,084;and PCT Publication WO 2008/124851.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

Aspects of the invention relate to carbonating or otherwise dissolving agas in a precursor liquid, such as water, to form a beverage. In someembodiments, a carbon dioxide or other gas source can be provided in acartridge which is used to generate carbon dioxide or other gas that isdissolved into the precursor liquid. A beverage medium, such as apowdered drink mix or liquid syrup, may be provided in the samecartridge as the gas source and mixed with the precursor liquid (eitherbefore or after carbonation) to form a beverage. The use of one or morecartridges for the gas source and/or beverage medium may make for aneasy to use and mess-free system for making carbonated or othersparkling beverages, e.g., in the consumer's home. A beverage mediumincluded in a cartridge may include any suitable beverage makingmaterials (beverage medium), such as concentrated syrups, ground coffeeor liquid coffee extract, tea leaves, dry herbal tea, powdered beverageconcentrate, dried fruit extract or powder, natural and/or artificialflavors or colors, acids, aromas, viscosity modifiers, clouding agents,antioxidants, powdered or liquid concentrated bouillon or other soup,powdered or liquid medicinal materials (such as powdered vitamins,minerals, bioactive ingredients, drugs or other pharmaceuticals,nutriceuticals, etc.), powdered or liquid milk or other creamers,sweeteners, thickeners, and so on. (As used herein, “mixing” of a liquidwith a beverage medium includes a variety of mechanisms, such as thedissolving of substances in the beverage medium in the liquid, theextraction of substances from the beverage medium, and/or the liquidotherwise receiving some material from the beverage medium or otherwisecombining with the beverage medium.) (The term “carbonation” or“carbonated” is used herein to generically refer to beverages that havea dissolved gas, and thus refers to a sparkling beverage whether thedissolved gas is carbon dioxide, nitrogen, oxygen, air or other gas.Thus, aspects of the invention are not limited to forming beverages thathave a dissolved carbon dioxide content, but rather may include anydissolved gas.)

In one aspect of the invention, a beverage cartridge includes a topsurface, a bottom surface, a lower sidewall extending upwardly from thebottom surface, and a rim between the top and bottom surfaces and havinga lower surface extending outwardly from the lower sidewall. A gas inletmay be located on the lower surface of the rim and arranged to be openedto admit pressurized gas into the cartridge to move a beverage medium inan internal space of the cartridge out of the cartridge. For example,the gas inlet may include a flow control element, such as an openablevalve, that can be opened to allow pressurized gas into the internalspace of the cartridge to force the beverage medium to exit thecartridge. In one embodiment, a portion of the rim may be piercable toopen the gas inlet. An indexing feature may be provided including arecess formed in the lower sidewall and located below the gas inlet torotationally position the gas inlet of the cartridge relative to acartridge holder. In this way, the cartridge and the gas inlet can besuitably positioned to open the gas inlet and admit pressurized gas intothe cartridge. In one embodiment, the recess extends from the bottomsurface to the rim.

In one embodiment, the beverage cartridge includes an upper portionincluding a first internal space containing a gas source, e.g., torelease gas used to carbonate a beverage. The upper portion may includethe top surface and an upper sidewall that extends downwardly from thetop surface to the rim, e.g., the upper sidewall may flare downwardlyand outwardly or have a frustoconical shape. A lower portion of thecartridge may include a second internal space containing the beveragemedium, e.g., the lower portion may include the bottom surface and thelower sidewall extending upwardly from the bottom surface (the lowersidewall may flare upwardly and outwardly from the bottom surface). Therim may extend radially outwardly from the upper and lower sidewalls,e.g., to provide first and second clamping surfaces for engagement by acartridge holder of a beverage making machine to define a pressure tightseal to contain pressurized gas emitted by the gas source. The first andsecond clamping surface may be upper and lower annular surfaces of therim, respectively.

In some embodiments, the top surface is pierceable to access the gassource, e.g., an opening of the cartridge may be closed by a lid that ispiercable to admit activating fluid into the cartridge to cause the gassource to release gas and/or to allow gas from the gas source to exitthe cartridge. In some cases, the upper portion may include a bottomwall that bounds a bottom of the first internal space of the upperportion, and separates the first internal space from the second internalspace. The lower portion may include an outlet through which thebeverage medium exits the second internal space, e.g., the outlet may belocated at the bottom surface of the lower portion and may be piercableto open the outlet.

In one embodiment, the gas inlet includes a protrusion extendingdownwardly from the lower surface of the rim, a hinge and a breakregion, arranged such that upward movement of the protrusion relative tothe rim causes the protrusion to pivot about the hinge and cause thebreak region to detach and open the gas inlet. In some cases, theprotrusion has a slope at a lower surface such that the protrusion islonger on a side opposite the hinge so as to concentrate a breakingforce on the break region when the protrusion is moved upwardly relativeto the rim. Upward movement of the protrusion may be caused by apiercing element of a cartridge holder contacting the protrusion and thecartridge being moved downwardly relative to the piercing element. Inone embodiment, the gas inlet includes a D-shaped sealing regionarranged around an inlet valve, with the D-shaped sealing regionarranged to engage with a portion of a cartridge holder to form agas-tight seal for admitting pressurized gas into the internal space. Inone case, the hinge portion of the gas inlet is located at the straightside of the D-shaped sealing region. The cartridge may also include agas path arranged to direct gas entering the cartridge at the gas inletinto the internal space. The gas path may include a restriction toresist movement of beverage medium in the cartridge to the gas inlet,e.g., so that a piercing element of the beverage machine at the gasinlet does not contact beverage medium.

In another aspect of the invention, a beverage cartridge includes a topsurface, a bottom surface, a lower sidewall extending upwardly from thebottom surface, and a clamping structure between the top and bottomsurfaces and having a lower surface extending outwardly from the lowersidewall. The clamping structure may be arranged for engagement with acartridge holder of a beverage machine such that the cartridge holdercan engage the clamping structure and force the cartridge into a brewingposition in the cartridge holder. In some cases, the clamping structuremay include a rim, ring or flange that extends continuously around thecartridge, or may include radially extending protrusions, such as ribsor tabs. A gas inlet may be located on the lower surface of the clampingstructure and arranged to be opened to admit pressurized gas into thecartridge to move a beverage medium in an internal space of thecartridge out of the cartridge. For example, the gas inlet may include aflow control element, such as an openable valve located at a radialprotrusion that can be opened to allow pressurized gas into the internalspace of the cartridge to force the beverage medium to exit thecartridge. An indexing feature may be provided including a recess formedin the lower sidewall and located below the gas inlet to rotationallyposition the gas inlet of the cartridge relative to a cartridge holder.In this way, the cartridge and the gas inlet can be suitably positionedto open the gas inlet and admit pressurized gas into the cartridge. Inone embodiment, the recess extends from the bottom surface to theclamping structure.

In another aspect of the invention, a beverage cartridge for forming acarbonated beverage includes an upper portion including a top surface,an upper sidewall extending downwardly from the top surface and a firstinternal space containing a gas source. A lower portion of the cartridgeincludes a bottom surface, a lower sidewall extending upwardly from thebottom surface, and a second internal space containing a beveragemedium. A rim may be spaced from and positioned between the top andbottom surfaces, with the rim extending radially outwardly beyond theupper and lower sidewalls. The rim may provide first and second clampingsurfaces for engagement by a cartridge holder of a beverage makingmachine to define a pressure tight seal to contain pressurized gasemitted by the gas source. A gas inlet may be located at an underside ofthe rim and arranged to admit pressurized gas into the second internalspace to urge the beverage medium out of the second internal space,e.g., through an outlet at the bottom surface. In one embodiment, theupper portion includes an upper rim portion, the lower portion includesa lower rim portion, and the upper and lower rim portions are joinedtogether to form the rim. A coupling member may be attached to the upperand lower rim portions so as to join the upper and lower portionstogether. As discussed above, the cartridge may include other features,such as an indexing recess in the lower portion sidewall located belowthe gas inlet.

In some embodiments, the first and second internal spaces of thecartridge may each have a volume that is less than a volume ofcarbonated beverage to be formed using the cartridge portions. This canprovide a significant advantage by allowing a user to form a relativelylarge volume beverage using a relatively small volume cartridge orcartridges. For example, the system may be arranged to use the first andsecond cartridge portions over a period of time less than about 120seconds to form a carbonated liquid having a volume of between 100-1000ml and a carbonation level of about 1 to 5 volumes. Carbonation mayoccur at pressures between 20-50 psi, or more. The cartridge portions inthis embodiment may have a volume of about 60 ml or less, reducing anamount of waste and/or adding to convenience of the system.

These and other aspects of the invention will be apparent from thefollowing description and claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Aspects of the invention are described with reference to the followingdrawings in which like numerals reference like elements, and wherein:

FIG. 1A shows a perspective view of an illustrative embodiment of abeverage cartridge;

FIG. 1B shows a perspective view of the cartridge of FIG. 1A annotatedwith dimensions;

FIG. 2 shows a cross-sectional view of the FIG. 1A cartridge;

FIG. 3 shows an exploded view of the FIG. 1A cartridge;

FIG. 4 shows an exploded view of the upper portion of the FIG. 1Acartridge;

FIG. 5 shows an exploded view of the lower portion of the FIG. 1Acartridge;

FIG. 6 shows a cross-sectional view depicting a gas inlet into the lowerportion of the FIG. 1A cartridge;

FIG. 7 shows a bottom perspective view of the gas inlet of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 shows a top perspective view of the gas inlet of FIGS. 6-7;

FIG. 9 shows a perspective view of an illustrative embodiment of abeverage making system;

FIG. 10 shows a left side view of the beverage making system of FIG. 9and a cartridge located in a cartridge holder of the beverage makingsystem;

FIG. 11 shows a cross-sectional view of a cartridge holder useable withthe beverage making system of FIG. 9 with a cartridge receiver in anopen position;

FIG. 12 shows a cross-sectional view of the FIG. 10 cartridge holderwith the cartridge receiver in a closed position;

FIG. 13 shows a cartridge in a cartridge receiver and a gas inlet of acartridge interacting with a beverage making system;

FIG. 14 shows a cartridge with an outlet piercing element piercingthrough a top lid of the cartridge and inlet piercing elements piercingthrough the top lid and a filter of the cartridge;

FIG. 15 shows a front view of a cartridge having an indexing feature;

FIG. 16 shows a cross-sectional view of a modified version of the FIG.1A cartridge;

FIG. 17 shows a perspective view of another modified version of the FIG.1A cartridge;

FIG. 18 shows an exploded view of the cartridge of FIG. 17;

FIG. 19 shows a perspective view of another modified version of the FIG.1A cartridge;

FIG. 20 shows a cross-sectional view of the cartridge of FIG. 19;

FIG. 21A shows a perspective view of the inside of the lower portion ofthe FIG. 1A cartridge;

FIG. 21B shows an enlargement of part of the lower portion of the FIG.1A cartridge;

FIG. 22 shows a cross-sectional view of the lower portion of thecartridge shown in FIG. 21A;

FIG. 23 shows a cross-sectional view of a modified version of the FIG.21A cartridge;

FIG. 24 shows a perspective view of a flow director hood used in theFIG. 23 cartridge;

FIG. 25 shows a perspective view of the FIG. 24 flow director hoodcoupled to a carrier; and

FIG. 26 shows an enlargement of a part of the FIG. 23 cartridge.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

It should be understood that aspects of the invention are describedherein with reference to the figures, which show illustrativeembodiments. The illustrative embodiments described herein are notnecessarily intended to show all embodiments in accordance with theinvention, but rather are used to describe a few illustrativeembodiments. Thus, aspects of the invention are not intended to beconstrued narrowly in view of the illustrative embodiments. In addition,it should be understood that aspects of the invention may be used aloneor in any suitable combination with other aspects of the invention.

In accordance with one aspect of the invention, a cartridge includes atop surface, a bottom surface, a sidewall that extends between the topand bottom surfaces, and a rim or other clamping structure positionedbetween the top and bottom surfaces that extends outwardly from thesidewall and provides one or more clamping surfaces for engagement by acartridge holder. For example, the clamping structure may include upperand lower surfaces that are engaged by the cartridge holder to hold thecartridge in place. One or both of the upper and lower surfaces may beengaged so as to form a pressure tight seal, e.g., by contact with ano-ring or other gasket of the cartridge holder. Providing the clampingstructure between the top and bottom surfaces may allow for the locationof two or more separate internal spaces or compartments of the cartridgeto be positioned in areas of differing pressure. For example, in oneembodiment, an upper portion of the cartridge may include a gas sourcethat releases gas under pressure and the upper portion may be held in arelatively high pressure space by the cartridge holder. In contrast, alower portion of the cartridge may contain a beverage medium and be heldin a relatively low pressure space, e.g., to allow the beverage mediumto be expelled from the cartridge.

Thus, according to one aspect, a cartridge may include a first portionhaving a first internal space and a second portion having a secondinternal space. The first internal space may contain a gas sourcearranged to emit gas for use in dissolving into precursor liquid, e.g.,for carbonating the precursor liquid, and the second internal space maycontain a beverage medium arranged to be mixed with liquid precursor toform a beverage. The first internal space containing the gas source maybe isolated from the second internal space in which the beverage mediumis contained. A fluid (such as water, water vapor, or other) may beprovided to the first portion containing the gas source so as to causethe gas source to emit gas that is used to carbonate precursor liquid orotherwise dissolve in the precursor liquid. Pressurized gas, such asair, may be delivered to the second portion containing the beveragemedium to move the beverage medium out of the second internal space ofthe second portion for mixing with a precursor liquid. Alternately,precursor liquid may be supplied to the second portion by a beveragemaking system for mixing with the beverage medium. The first portion mayhave a top surface that can be pierced to form an inlet into the firstinternal space. The second portion may have a gas inlet having a flowcontrol element located at the underside of the rim, e.g., to admitpressurized gas to force or otherwise cause beverage medium to exit thesecond portion.

In accordance with one aspect of the invention, a fluid (such as water,water vapor, or other) may be provided to a carbon dioxide or other gassource in a cartridge so as to cause the gas source to emit gas that isused for carbonation or otherwise for dissolution in a liquid. In oneembodiment, a beverage making machine may include a gas activating fluidsupply arranged to provide fluid to a cartridge chamber for contact withthe gas source so as to cause the gas source to emit gas. In otherarrangements, the gas source may be caused to release gas in other ways,such as by heating, exposing the source to microwaves or otherelectromagnetic radiation, etc. A gas supply of the machine may bearranged to conduct gas emitted by the gas source, under pressuregreater than the ambient pressure, to a precursor liquid to carbonatethe precursor liquid. In some embodiments, the gas source may be insolid form, such as a zeolite, activated carbon or other molecular sievethat is charged with carbon dioxide or other gas, and the use of acartridge may not only isolate the gas source from activating agents(such as water vapor in the case of a charged zeolite), but alsopotentially eliminate the need for a user to touch or otherwise directlyhandle the carbon dioxide source.

According to another aspect of the invention, a volume or other measureof the fluid provided to the cartridge may be controlled to control therate or amount of gas that is produced by the gas source. This aspectcan make the use of some gas sources, such as a charged zeolitematerial, possible without requiring gas storage or high pressurecomponents, although high pressure gas cylinders can be used as a gassource with some embodiments. For example, zeolites charged with carbondioxide tend to release carbon dioxide very rapidly and in relativelylarge quantities (e.g., a 30 gram mass of charged zeolite can easilyproduce 1-2 liters of carbon dioxide gas at atmospheric pressure in afew seconds in the presence of less than 30-50 ml of water). This rapidrelease can in some circumstances make the use of zeolites impracticalfor producing relatively highly carbonated liquids, such as a carbonatedwater that is carbonated to a level of 2 volumes or more. (A carbonation“volume” refers to the number of volume measures of carbon dioxide gasthat is dissolved in a given volume measure of liquid. For example, a 1liter amount of “2 volume” carbonated water includes a 1 liter volume ofwater that has 2 liters of carbon dioxide gas dissolved in it.Similarly, a 1 liter amount of “4 volume” carbonated water includes a 1liter volume of water that has 4 liters of carbon dioxide dissolved init. The gas volume measure is the gas volume that could be released fromthe carbonated liquid at atmospheric or ambient pressure and roomtemperature.) That is, dissolution of carbon dioxide or other gases inliquids typically takes a certain amount of time, and the rate ofdissolution can only be increased a limited amount under less thanextreme conditions, such as pressures within about 150 psi of ambientand temperatures within about +/−40 to 50 degrees C. of roomtemperature. By controlling the rate of carbon dioxide (or other gas)production for a carbon dioxide (or other gas) source, the total timeover which the carbon dioxide (or other gas) source emits carbon dioxide(or other gas) can be extended, allowing time for the carbon dioxide(gas) to be dissolved without requiring relatively high pressures. Forexample, when employing one illustrative embodiment incorporating one ormore aspects of the invention, the inventors have produced liquidshaving at least up to about 3.5 volume carbonation levels in less than60 seconds, at pressures under about 40 psi, and at temperatures around0 degrees Celsius. Of course, as discussed above and elsewhere herein,aspects of the invention are not limited to use with carbon dioxide, andinstead any suitable gas may be dissolved in a liquid in accordance withall aspects of this disclosure.

In another aspect of the invention, a portion of a precursor liquid thatis used to form a beverage may be used to activate the gas source. Thisfeature may help simplify operation of a beverage making machine, e.g.,by eliminating the need for special activation substances. As a result,a beverage making machine, or a method of forming a sparkling beverage,may be made less expensively and/or without special purpose ingredients.For example, in the case of a machine making carbonated water, all thatis needed to activate the carbon dioxide source may be a portion of thewater used to form the beverage. It should be understood, however, thatother aspects of the invention need not require the use of a portion ofprecursor liquid to activate a carbon dioxide source, and instead mayuse any suitable activating agent, such as a citric acid in aqueous formthat is added to a bicarbonate material, heat, microwave or otherelectromagnetic radiation used to activate a zeolite source, and others.For example, the cartridge that includes the carbon dioxide source mayinclude (as part of the source) an activating agent whose addition toanother component of the carbon dioxide source is controlled to controlcarbon dioxide production.

FIGS. 1-3 show an illustrative embodiment of a beverage cartridge 4 thatincorporates one or more aspects of the invention. The cartridge has atop surface 111 and a bottom surface 112 with a height H2 (see FIG. 1B).The height H2 of the cartridge 4 may range from 55 to 60 mm, thoughother values are possible. The cartridge 4 has a maximum diameter thatmay range from 61 to 63 mm in this illustrative embodiment. A clampingstructure, in this case a rim 44, is located between the top and bottomsurfaces 111, 112 and includes portions that extend radially outwardlyand beyond a sidewall 410, 420 of the cartridge 4. The rim 44 has upperand lower surfaces 144 a, 144 b and a circumferential portion 44 a, 44 bthat extends axially from a radially outer end of the upper and lowersurfaces 144 a, 144 b. As discussed in more detail below, the rim 44 orother clamping structure may provide a support for the cartridge 4 thatcan be engaged by a cartridge holder of a beverage machine, e.g., toclamp the cartridge in place for piercing the top and/or bottom surface111, 112 to access an interior space of the cartridge 4, to establish apressure tight seal with the cartridge 4, or otherwise hold thecartridge as needed to form a beverage. (The terms “rim” and “band” canbe used interchangeably to refer to element 44.)

In this embodiment, the cartridge has an upper portion 41 and a lowerportion 42, which may respectively define upper and lower internalspaces in which a gas source or beverage medium may be contained.However, as described in alternative embodiments below, a cartridge neednot have two portions, but may have one or more than two, and theportions may be located in any suitable way with respect to the rim 44.In some embodiments, the internal spaces of the upper and/or lowerportions may be divided into two or more chambers. For example, contentsheld within the lower portion (and/or upper portion) may be held in twoor more separate sections so that different types of contents can bestored separately and dispensed together. As one example of a potentialbenefit, such an arrangement may be useful in the case of substancesthat cannot be mixed together and stored for long periods due todegradation or for other incompatibility issues.

In this embodiment, the upper portion 41 has an upper sidewall 410 thatextends downwardly from the top surface 111 to the rim 44, and the lowerportion 42 has a lower sidewall 420 that extends upwardly from thebottom surface 112 to the rim 44. As can be seen, the rim 44 is spacedfrom the top surface 111 and from the bottom surface 112, and protrudesradially outwardly from the lower end of the upper sidewall 410 and theupper end of the lower sidewall 420, proud to the outer surface of thesidewalls 410, 420. As such, the rim 44 extends radially outwardlybeyond the upper and lower sidewalls 410, 420. The rim 44 in thisembodiment has a radial thickness R and a height H1 which may beadjusted as desired to provide needed strength, a suitably sizedclamping area, needed gas or other flow paths, needed space for movementof a gas inlet flow control element, and/or other features. The rim 44in this case has clamping surfaces for engagement by a cartridge holderof a beverage making system at a top, upwardly facing surface 144 a (afirst clamping surface) and a bottom, downwardly facing surface 144 b (asecond clamping surface). In some embodiments, clamping of the rim 44 atone or both of the clamping surfaces 144 a, 144 b by the cartridgeholder creates a pressure tight seal to contain pressurized gas emittedby a gas source contained within the cartridge, as will be discussed. Inthis embodiment, the rim 44 has an annular shape that extends around acircumference of the cartridge, e.g., the clamping surfaces 144 a, 144 bhave an annular shape, but the rim 44 may have a different shape, suchas semi-circular shape in vertical cross section. That is, in thisembodiment and as can be seen in the vertical cross sectional view ofFIG. 2, the rim 44 has a rectangular shape including the horizontallyoriented surfaces 144 a, 144 b and the circumferential portion 44 a, 44b extending axially between the outer ends of the surfaces 144 a, 144 b.However, the rim 44 could have a semi-circular shape, e.g., with thesurfaces 144 a, 144 b defining a quarter-circle arcuate shape, a partialoval shape, a triangular shape, or others. In this embodiment, theclamping surfaces 144 a, 144 b are substantially horizontal relative tothe vertical axis 180 of the cartridge 4. However, other arrangementsmay be possible, e.g., the clamping surfaces 144 a, 144 b may be obliqueto the vertical axis 180 of the cartridge 4.

Assembly of the rim 44 and other portions of the cartridge 4 may dependon the cartridge configuration, and can be performed in a variety ofdifferent ways. For example, in this embodiment, the top surface 411 andupper sidewall 410 of the upper portion 41 is a first component and thebottom surface 422 and lower sidewall 420 of the lower portion 42 is asecond component. The two components are initially made as separatecomponents that are joined together to form the rim 44. That is, in thisillustrative embodiment and as seen in FIG. 2, the upper portion 41includes an upper rim portion (which includes the upper surface 144 aand circumferential portion 44 a), which is attached to a bottom end ofthe upper sidewall 410. The upper rim portion is coupled to the lowerportion 42 via a lower rim portion (which includes the lower surface 144b and circumferential portion 44 b), which is attached to an upper endof the lower sidewall 420. With the upper and lower portions 41, 42coupled together, the rim 44 is formed.

However, this arrangement is not required for the rim 44. Alternatively,the rim 44 or other clamping structure may be one or more componentsthat are formed separately from, and later attached to, the upper andlower portions 41, 42. For example, in one illustrative embodiment, thesidewalls 410, 420, of the upper and lower portions 41, 42 may beattached directly to each another, and the rim 44 may be attached overthe joined sidewalls. In another arrangement, the upper and lowerportions 41, 42 may be formed as a single continuous body (as opposed tothe upper and lower portions 41, 42 being formed initially as separatecomponents), and the rim 44 may attached to the sidewall of the body,e.g., by encircling a circumference of the body sidewall, or the rim 44may be formed as a single unitary part with the body sidewall. In yetanother embodiment, the rim 44 may be formed as a solid or hollow discor puck (e.g., a cylinder having a height H1). An upper portion 41 ofthe beverage cartridge 4 may be attached to a top of the disc or puckand a lower portion 42 may be attached to a bottom of the disc or puck,such that the disc or puck is sandwiched between the upper and lowerportions 41, 42. The diameter of the puck may be greater than that ofthe upper and lower portions, such that an outer portion of the puckextends beyond the sidewalls of the upper and lower portions to definethe rim 44.

In yet other embodiments, the rim 44 or other clamping structure may beremovably attachable to a cartridge, e.g., which may include upper andlower portions 41, 42. In one illustrative embodiment, the rim 44 isreusable with different cartridges. For example, a first cartridgeportion may have upper and lower portions 41, 42 attached together,although provided without a rim 44. A user may then attach the rim 44the upper and/or lower portions 41, 42 before inserting the assembledcombination into a beverage making system. For example, where the rim 44is formed as a solid puck that is sandwiched between upper and lowerportions 41, 42, the user may attach the upper and lower portions 41, 42to the puck and then place the assembly in a cartridge holder. Afterforming a beverage using the contents of the upper and/or lower portions41, 42, the user may remove the rim 44 from the upper and lower portions41, 42 and reuse the rim 44 for another set of upper and lower portions41, 42 to form a subsequent beverage. Alternatively, the rim 44 may befirst inserted into the cartridge holder of the beverage making systemand the set of upper and lower portions 41, 42 (or other cartridgesections) may be inserted into the rim 44.

Engagement of cartridge portions with a clamping structure may be doneby interference fit, a bayonet connection, adhesive, clamp, or other.For example, in one embodiment, where the rim 44 is hoop-shaped, the rim44 attaches to the upper and lower portions 41, 42 by slipping thehoop-shaped rim 44 over one of the ends of the upper and lower portions41, 42 until the rim 44 engages with the upper and/or lower portion 41,42 in an interference fit, via a mechanical interlock, adhesive,welding, and/or other suitable attachment arrangement. In anotherexample, the rim 44 may be comprised of multiple pieces, such as twosemi-circle halves that may be brought together around the upper and/orlower portions 41, 42 and assembled into a complete ring to encircle thecircumference of the upper and/or lower portions 41, 42. The rim 44 maythen attach to the upper and/or lower portions 41, 42 via aninterference fit, mechanical interlock, or other suitable attachmentarrangement. In another illustrative embodiment, where the rim is theouter portion of a circular puck that is sandwiched between an upperportion 41 and a lower portion 42, the upper and lower portions mayengage with the puck via a mechanical interlock, adhesive, welding, orother suitable attachment arrangement.

Of course, other clamping structure configurations may be attached to acartridge in other ways. For example, in one embodiment, the clampingstructure may include one or more tabs or protrusions that extendradially outwardly from the upper and/or lower portion 41, 42. Theseprotrusions may be arranged like spokes or other elements that can beengaged by a cartridge holder to hold the cartridge in place. Theprotrusions may be formed as a unitary part with the upper and/or lowerportions 41, 42 or other cartridge element, or may be made separatelyand later attached, e.g., by welding, adhesive, etc. In one case, theprotrusions may include arcuate sections that each extend around aportion of the cartridge, but are separate from each other so as toprovide gaps between the protrusions in an arcuate direction. In otherembodiments, the clamping structure may include rods, pins or otherelements positioned around the cartridge to provide a clamping surface.

In the illustrative embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the upper portion 41 isattached over the lower portion 42. In some embodiments, the upperportion 41 includes an upper internal space 41 a that overlies a lowerinternal space 42 a of the lower portion 42. For example, the upper andlower internal spaces 41 a, 42 a may both be rotationally symmetricrelative to a vertical axis 180 of the cartridge 4. However, thisarrangement is not required, and the upper internal space 41 a mayoverlie only part of the lower internal space 42 a (e.g., such that avertical axis can pass through both the first internal space 41 a andthe second internal space 42 a), or may not overlie any part of thelower internal space 42 a. In this embodiment, the first internal space41 a is isolated from the second internal space 42 a, e.g., so a gassource 30 is separated from a beverage medium 31.

The shape, size or other configuration of the upper and/or lowerportions 41, 42 may be altered as desired, at least in some embodiments.In the illustrative embodiment shown in FIGS. 1-3, the upper portion 41has a top wall 411, a bottom wall 49 and a sidewall 410 extendingbetween the top and bottom walls. The top wall 411, bottom wall 49 andsidewall 410 define boundaries of a volume of the upper portion 41. Theupper portion 41 has a substantially frustoconical shape such that thesidewall 410 flares downwardly and outwardly from the top wall 411,e.g., the top of the substantially frustoconical shape has a smallerdiameter than that of the bottom of the substantially frustoconicalshape. That is, the sidewall 410 may extend downwardly from the top wall411 and flare outwardly away from the vertical axis 180. The top wall411 and the sidewall 410 may be made in any suitable way, e.g., as asingle monolithic component having the same, or different, wallthickness, or may be made as separate parts of the same or differentmaterial that are joined together. In this embodiment, a portion of thetop wall 411 and the sidewall 410 are molded as a single part such thatan outer, peripheral section of the top wall 411 curves downwardly andtransitions to the sidewall 410. However, this arrangement is notrequired, e.g., the top wall 411 and sidewall 410 may be joined at asharp angle or together may define a gradually curved configuration suchas an overall dome shape. As seen in FIG. 1B, the upper portion 41 has aheight H3, which may range from 23 to 25 mm in this illustrativeembodiment.

Similar to the upper portion 41, the lower portion 42 may be arranged ina variety of different sizes, shapes and/or other configurations, atleast in some embodiments. In the illustrated arrangement, the lowerportion 42 has a top surface 145, a bottom wall 422 and a sidewall 420extending between the top surface and bottom wall. The top surface 145,bottom wall 422 and sidewall 420 define boundaries of a volume of thelower portion 42. The lower portion 42 has a substantially frustoconicalshape such that the sidewall 420 flares upwardly and outwardly from thebottom wall 422, e.g., the top of the substantially frustoconical shapehas a larger diameter than that of the bottom of the frustoconicalshape. That is, the lower portion 42 has a sidewall 420 that extendsupwardly from the bottom wall 422 and flares outwardly away from avertical axis 180 of the cartridge 4. In some embodiments, such as theembodiment shown in FIG. 2, the lower portion 42 may be rotationallysymmetric about a vertical axis 190 that is coincident with the verticalaxis 180 of the cartridge 4. In some embodiments, the vertical axis 180may pass through a centerpoint of the top wall 411 of the cartridge andthe centerpoint of the bottom wall 422 of the cartridge. The bottom wall422 and the sidewall 420 may be made in any suitable way, e.g., as asingle monolithic component having the same, or different, wallthickness, or may be made as separate parts of the same or differentmaterial that are joined together. In this embodiment, a portion of thebottom wall 422 and the sidewall 420 are molded as a single part suchthat an outer, peripheral section of the bottom wall 422 curves upwardlyand transitions to the sidewall 420. However, this arrangement is notrequired, e.g., the bottom wall 422 and sidewall 420 may be joined at asharp angle or together may define a gradually curved configuration suchas an overall dome shape. As seen in FIG. 1B, the lower portion 42 has aheight H4, which may range from 31 to 34 mm in this embodiment.

The cartridge can have an outlet arranged in different ways so thatbeverage medium in the cartridge can be released and mixed with aprecursor liquid to form a beverage. For example, as seen in FIG. 2, inthis embodiment, the lower portion 42 includes an outlet 48 arranged atthe bottom wall 422. Also, while the outlet 48 may be arranged as simplyas an opening in the bottom wall 422, in this embodiment, outletcomponents are housed at least partially within a protrusion 248 thatextends downwardly from the bottom wall 422. As will be explained inmore detail below, the protrusion 248 may aid in supporting an outletmembrane or cover and piercing of the membrane/cover to open the outlet48. In this embodiment, the protrusion 248 protrudes out from the bottomwall 422 by a height H5 (see FIG. 2) which may range from 3 to 6 mm. Theprotrusion 248 may have a width smaller than that of the bottom wall 422and may be rotationally symmetric about a vertical axis 190 of the lowerportion 42. The protrusion 248 may house components, such as an outletvalve, as will be discussed in more detail below. In some embodiments,as will be discussed in further detail below, a membrane or covering 164is located at the bottom end of the protrusion 248. This covering 164may be pierced to open the outlet 48, thereby permitting beverage mediumto exit the lower portion 42. In some embodiments, outlet 48 may includemore than one opening.

In some embodiments, the top surface of the cartridge may be pierceableto access the gas source in the upper portion 41. For example, apiercing element may form one or more openings in the top surface 111 sothat a fluid may be provided into the internal space and/or so that gasemitted by the gas source can exit the internal space. In thisembodiment, the top surface 111 of the upper portion 41 and thecartridge 4 includes a lid 45 that covers an opening of the upperportion 41. The lid 45 is pierceable to form one or more openings so asto access a gas source 30 in the upper portion 41. In some embodiments,the opening of the upper portion 41 may be smaller in diameter than thetop of the upper portion 41, and the lid 45 may be larger in size thanthe opening such that an outer portion of the lid 45 may overlap with aportion of the top wall 411 of the upper portion 41. In this embodiment,the lid 45 is attached to the top surface of the top wall 411, but inother embodiments, the lid 45 may be attached to an inner side of thetop wall 411. The lid 45 may be heat sealed, adhered, or otherwiseattached to the top wall 411 of the upper portion 41. Of course, the lid45 may have any suitable size and/or shape, which may depend on the sizeand/or shape of the opening, e.g., the lid 45 may be circular to coverthe opening of the upper portion 41. The lid 45 may be made offoil/polymer laminate or other flexible sheet material. Of course, theuse of a lid 45 is not required, and instead material used to form thetop wall 411 may be itself pierced to access the gas source. In someembodiments, the top wall 411 spans the entire top of the cartridge andthe top wall 411 may include one or more small holes. In an embodimentwith more than one small hole, the small holes may each be covered withseparate pieces of pierceable material that each serve as lids.Alternatively, a single piece of pierceable material may cover two ormore holes and serves as a lid. In other arrangement, valves or portsmay be provided at the top wall 411 and/or sidewall 410 as desired.

In one aspect of the invention, a filter in the internal space of thecartridge may define a gas outlet chamber that is located below thepierceable top surface of the cartridge. The gas outlet chamber may beseparated from the gas source such that gas emitted by the gas sourcemust pass through the filter to enter the gas outlet chamber, and thusexit the cartridge. This arrangement may help prevent unwanted exit ofgas source materials from the cartridge. In the illustrated embodiment,as seen in FIG. 2, a filter 45 a may be positioned below the lid 45,e.g., spaced apart from the lid 45 but substantially parallel to the lid45. However, in other embodiments, the filter 45 a may be positioned incontact with an inner surface of the lid 45 such that the gas outletchamber between the filter 45 a and the lid 45 is defined as the verynarrow space between the filter 45 a and the lid 45. In somearrangements, the filter is arranged for contact with a piercing elementthat pierces the top surface to create an outlet opening through whichgas emitted by the gas source exits the first internal space. Forexample, the filter may be arranged to move away from the top surfacewith contact of the filter with the piercing element. This movement mayhelp to enlarge a gas outlet chamber, as needed, as well as resistpiercing of the filter 45 a itself. Thus, the filter 45 a may be made tobe pierce-resistant so that the filter 45 a retains its ability toseparate gas (which enters the gas chamber through the filter 45 a) fromgas source material. The filter 45 a may be larger in size than theopening of the upper portion 41 such that an outer portion of the filter45 a may overlap with a portion of the top wall 411 of the upper portion41. In this embodiment, the filter 45 a is attached to the underside ofthe upper portion top wall 411, which serves as a standoff or protrusionsuch that the filter 45 a is suitably spaced from the lid 45. The filter45 a may be made of any suitable material, such as a paper and/orpolymer-based filter paper.

As noted above, the first and second internal spaces 41 a, 42 a may beseparated from each other, e.g., by a bottom wall 49 that defines abottom portion of the first internal space 41 a. In some embodiments,the bottom wall 49 has a dome shape. In the illustrated embodiment, thebottom wall 49 has a central portion 490 and a peripheral portion 44 c.In this embodiment, the central portion 490 includes a curved surfacethat is concave up, but such a shape is not necessary, e.g., the centralportion 490 may be flat or concave down. The peripheral portion 44 c ofthe bottom wall 49 is employed to join the upper and lower rim portionsof the first and second portions 41, 42. That is, the peripheral portion44 c has a downwardly extending portion located at an outer periphery ofthe central portion 490. The downwardly extending portion of theperipheral portion 44 c may be substantially vertical, or may be angledrelative to the vertical axis 180 of the upper portion 41.

The peripheral portion 44 c of the bottom wall 49 serves as a couplingmember that couples the upper portion 41 to the lower portion 42. Asused herein, the terms “connected,” “attached,” or “coupled” are notlimited to a direct connection, attachment, or coupling, as twocomponents may be connected, attached, or coupled to one another viaintermediate components.

In some embodiments, the coupling member is attached to the upper rimportion (which includes the upper surface 144 a and circumferentialportion 44 a) and the lower rim portion (which includes the lowersurface 144 b and circumferential portion 44 b). In some embodiments,the coupling member is attached to the circumferential portions 44 a, 44b. As best seen in FIG. 2, the inwardly facing surfaces of thecircumferential portions 44 a, 44 b are coupled to the outwardly facingsurface of the peripheral portion 44 c of the bottom wall 49. That is,the peripheral portion 44 c may function as a bridge to join thecircumferential portions of the upper and lower portions 41, 42. In someembodiments, the outwardly facing surface of the peripheral portion 44 cincludes threads, and the inwardly facing surfaces of thecircumferential portions 44 a and 44 b also include threads, grooves, orridges to engage with complementary threads, grooves or ridges of theperipheral portion 44 c. These complementary locking features may engagewith each other, e.g., by way of a snap fit, to engage the upper andlower portions 41, 42 and the peripheral portion 44 c together. In someembodiments, an adhesive, heat seal, heat weld, or other suitablebonding technique may be used to reinforce the attachment between thecircumferential portions 44 a, 44 b to the peripheral portion 44 c.

It should be appreciated that other arrangements for coupling thecircumferential portions 44 a, 44 b to peripheral portion 44 c arepossible. For example, instead of or in addition to threads, aninterference fit, physical interlock, an overwrap, adhesive, heatsealing/welding, or other suitable arrangement may be used to couple thecircumferential portions 44 a, 44 b to the peripheral portion 44 cand/or to one another.

In some embodiments, the upper and lower portions 41, 42 can bereversibly coupled together. For example, the upper and lower portionsmay reversibly couple to a coupling member such as the peripheralportion 44 c or to each other via a threaded engagement, snap fit,bayonet connection, or other. In some cases, a weak adhesive may be usedto maintain engagement between the upper and lower portions 41, 42, butthe adhesive may be easily overcome by a user twisting, pulling orotherwise moving the portions relative to one another or relative to acoupling member. The adhesive would be weak enough to permit decouplingof the portions from one another or from a coupling member withoutpermanent deformation and/or tearing of the portions or coupling member.In other embodiments, the upper and lower portions are permanentlycoupled together such that any attempt to decouple the portions from oneanother would result in permanent deformation and/or tearing of theportions or coupling member. Such separation may be useful, for example,when composting or otherwise recycling portions of the cartridge.

In some embodiments, the top of the lower portion 42 includes a lid 145that covers an opening of the lower portion 42. The lid 145 may providedifferent functions, such as closing the second internal space 42 aafter a beverage medium is placed in the lower portion 42. This way, thebeverage medium may be captured in the second internal space 42 a forsubsequent assembly steps, such as joining the lower portion 42 to theperipheral portion 44 c and the upper portion 41. Alternately, or inaddition, the lid 145 may cover a gas inlet 47 and help control flow ofgas into the second internal space 42 a. The lid 145 may be larger insize than the opening such that an outer portion of the lid 145 overlapswith at least a portion of the top surface of the lower rim portion. Thelid 145 is heat sealed, adhered or otherwise attached to the top of thelower rim portion, and may have any suitable shape to cover the openingof the lower portion 42. The lid 145 may be made of foil, polymer, orother flexible material such as a foil/polymer laminate. The lid 145 maybe die cut, stamped, molded, or formed by any other suitable method.

The lower portion of the cartridge can have an inlet arranged indifferent ways so that pressurized gas or liquid can be introduced intothe lower internal space of the cartridge to move a beverage medium outof the outlet to form a beverage. In some embodiments, pressurized gasis introduced through the lower portion inlet to move the beveragemedium out of the cartridge to be mixed with precursor liquid outside ofthe cartridge. In another embodiment, precursor liquid is introducedthrough the lower portion inlet to both mix with the beverage medium andto move the beverage medium out of the cartridge to form a beverage.

The inlet may be strategically positioned on the cartridge to facilitateproper alignment between the inlet with a cooperating component of thebeverage making system. As seen in FIGS. 2-3 and 5, in one illustrativeembodiment, the lower portion 42 includes an inlet 47 located at anunderside or lower surface of the rim 44. The inlet 47 may be located atan indexing groove 46 of the cartridge 4, e.g., with the indexing groove46 located below the inlet 47 to ensure that the inlet 47 isappropriately positioned relative to a cartridge holder when placed in abeverage making machine.

To controllably resist and allow access to the lower internal space ofthe lower portion through the inlet, the inlet may include a flowcontrol element such as a valve or a membrane seal. The flow controlelement may be opened to allow access through the inlet to the lowerinternal space of the lower portion, e.g., so pressurized gas or liquidcan be introduced into the lower internal space to move a beveragemedium out of the outlet of the lower portion. In some embodiments, theinlet may include a pierceable portion of the rim 44. In someembodiments, at least a portion of the inlet flow control element isdetachable from a lower surface of the rim. An enlarged view of theinlet 47 is depicted in FIG. 6, which is a cross-sectional view of thecartridge taken through the inlet 47. As seen in FIG. 6, the inlet 47includes an inlet valve 147 that is coupled to the rim 44 via a hinge141 such that the inlet valve 147 is moveable relative to the rim 44.The inlet valve 147 is a flow control element that controls the entry offluid through the inlet 47. Before the inlet valve 147 is opened, thevalve end 142 is coupled to the rim 44 at a break region 149. In theembodiment shown in FIG. 6, the break region is a weakened region ofthin material that can be torn open by an application of force to thevalve 147. In some embodiments, the break region 149 may be scored orotherwise have a line or region of weakness that defines a preferentialopening area. In some cases, the valve end 142, break region 149 and rim44 are formed as one monolithic component, e.g., as a molded part.Detachment of the valve end 142 from the rim 44 at the break region 149allows the inlet valve 147 to open. With the valve end 142 detached fromthe rim 44 at the break region 149, the inlet valve 147 is free to pivotrelative to the rim 44 about the hinge 141. In the embodiment shown inFIG. 6, the hinge 141 is a living hinge—i.e., the hinge 141 is made fromthe same material and is continuous with the two pieces it connects (therim 44 and the inlet valve 147) such that the rim 44, the hinge 141 andthe inlet valve 147 are formed as one monolithic component.

Detachment of the valve end 142 from the rim 44 at the break region 149may occur using any suitable arrangement. In some embodiments, as willbe discussed in more detail below, an object may push up against theunderside of the inlet valve 147 until the valve end 142 detaches at thebreak region 149. As seen in FIGS. 6 and 7, in some embodiments, theunderside of the inlet valve 147 includes a downwardly-extendingprotrusion 148. In some cases, a component from a beverage making systemmay push up against the downwardly-extending protrusion 148 to open theinlet valve 147. In other embodiments, the underside of the inlet valve147 may be subjected to a blast of air or other fluid that exerts aforce on the underside of the inlet valve 147 until the valve end 142detaches at the break region 149.

As seen in FIG. 7, which is a bottom perspective view of the inlet 47,the rim 44 may include a sealing surface 143 surrounding the inlet valve147. In some embodiments, like that shown in FIG. 7, the sealing surface143 is D-shaped. Other shapes for the sealing surface 143 are possibleas well, for example, circular, oval or square. As seen in FIG. 6, theD-shaped sealing surface 143 is located at the lower surface or side ofrim 44. The increased vertical thickness of the rim 44 at the D-shapedsealing surface 143 may help to define the weakened break region 149where the valve 147 breaks free of the rim 44. The hinge 141 of thevalve is located along the flat of the D-shape. The bottom surface ofthe downwardly-extending protrusion 148 is sloped upwardly toward theflat of the D-shape such that the protrusion 148 has the smallestvertical thickness at the flat of the D-shape and the greatest verticalthickness at the side opposite the flat of the D-shape. The shape of theprotrusion 148 causes an opening force applied to the underside of theprotrusion 148 (e.g., by a beverage making machine) to concentrate atthe side of the D-shape opposite the flat. As a result, the opening ofthe valve 147 occurs first at the side of the D-shape opposite the flatand then progresses toward the flat side. In some cases, the sealingsurface 143 may provide a seal surface for a beverage making system toengage with to prevent air leakage when pressurized air or other gas (orliquid) is introduced into the second portion 42.

In this embodiment, the inlet 47 includes a flow control element in theform of a hinged valve that can be detached from the lower portion atone end. However, it should be appreciated that other arrangements for aflow control element are possible, such as a self-closing septum valve,a one-way valve, a check valve, a pressure-opening valve or a membraneseal. In embodiments using a seal as a flow control element, the sealmay be opened via piercing, bursting with pressure, peeling the seal offor back, or other suitable arrangement. In some cases, a semi-permeablemembrane that permits passage of air but not liquids or solids may beused. In addition, in this embodiment, the valve is coupled to the lowerportion by forming the valve as one monolithic component with the rim44. However, it should be appreciated that the flow control element maybe coupled to the portion in other ways, such as with an adhesive, aphysical interlock, an interference fit, a fastener, a threadedengagement, or any other suitable arrangement.

The inventors have appreciated that, in some embodiments, the presenceof beverage medium near or at the inlet valve 147 of the lower portion42 may interfere with opening of the valve 147, and/or may causebeverage medium to leak out of the lower portion once the valve 147 hasopened and come into contact with the beverage making system, which maycontaminate the system and subsequent beverages and/or interfere withthe operation of the beverage making system. As such, the inventors haverecognized a need for an arrangement where the interior space holdingthe beverage medium is physically separated from the inlet into theinterior space. Accordingly, one aspect of the invention relates toisolating or protecting the inlet of the beverage medium portion fromcontact with beverage medium while allowing for fluid communicationbetween the inlet and the internal space of the portion where thebeverage medium is held.

In accordance with one aspect of the invention, the cartridge includes agas path that fluidly connects the inlet of the beverage medium portionwith the internal space of the portion where the beverage medium isheld. In one illustrative example, as seen in FIG. 8, which depicts thetop side of the inlet 47, the lower surface 144 b of the rim 44 includesa gas path 150 extending from the break region 149 of the inlet valve147 and into the lower internal space 42 a of the lower portion 42. Thegas path 150 directs air entering through inlet 47 into the lowerinternal space 42 a to exert a force upon the beverage medium containedwithin the lower internal space 42 a. In this embodiment, the gas path150 is an indented channel into the lower surface 144 b of the rim,although other arrangements are possible, as discussed below. As seen inFIGS. 2-3 and 5, the lid 145 of the lower portion 42 overlies the inlet47 and the gas path 150, thus serving to define the upper boundary ofthe gas path 150. In some embodiments, the lid may overlie at least aportion of the gas path and thus serve to define the upper boundary ofat least a portion of the gas path. Movement of the inlet valve 147toward an open position opens fluid communication through the inlet 47into the gas path 150, e.g., by lifting the lid 145 in a local areabetween the valve 147 and the gas path 150. Air or gas that is directedthrough the inlet 47 may then travel through the gas path 150 and enterthe lower internal space 42 a. Inclusion of a gas path 150 separatingthe portion inlet 47 from the lower internal space 42 a holding thebeverage medium may help to separate the beverage medium from theportion inlet 47. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 8, the gas path 150has a serpentine path. Having a suitably narrow, shallow and/or curvedpath may help resist movement of beverage medium, such as a beveragesyrup, into the gas path 150 such that the beverage medium reaches theinlet 47.

It should be appreciated that the gas path need not be limited to theparticular shape or arrangement shown in FIG. 8. For example, the gaspath could be any shape, could have more or less undulations, or couldbe a straight gas path. The gas path may be a channel, indentation,groove, cut-out, hollowed-out section, or other suitable pre-definedpath along which gas can travel. In some cases, liquids or solids maytravel along the path as well. In some embodiments, the gas path may bedefined using a glue or adhesive pattern between two surfaces ofoverlapping material such that non-adhered portions define a paththrough which gas can travel and adhered portions define the boundariesof the path. For example, instead of the gas path being an indentationinto the lower surface 144 b of the rim 44 as with the embodiment shownin FIG. 8, the gas path may be formed using a glue or adhesive patternbetween the lid 145 of the lower portion 42 and the lower surface 144 bof the rim 44. As one example, the lid 145 may be adhered to the lowerportion 42 at certain areas to define boundaries of a gas path, whilenon-adhered areas define a path through which gas can travel. In someembodiments, the gas path may have a length of 10 to 30 mm, a width of0.1 to 1 mm, and a depth of 0.1 to 0.5 mm. In one embodiment, the gaspath has a length of approximately 22 mm, a width of between 0.45 and0.7 mm and a depth of approximately 0.3 mm.

The lower portion of the cartridge can have an outlet arranged indifferent ways so that beverage medium in the cartridge can be releasedand mixed with a precursor liquid to form a beverage. The outlet may bearranged to prevent contents inside the lower internal space of thelower portion of the cartridge from exiting the lower portion until adesired point in a beverage-making process. In some embodiments, theoutlet includes one or more flow control elements that serve to preventcontents inside the lower internal space of the lower portion of thecartridge from exiting the lower portion until a desired point in abeverage-making process.

In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 2 and 5, the lower portion 42 includesan outlet 48 which includes one or more flow control elements configuredto resist and to enable fluid communication through the outlet. In oneembodiment, an outlet valve 160 and an outlet covering 164 serve as flowcontrol elements. The valve 160 and the outlet covering 164 may bothserve to resist beverage medium 31 inside the lower internal space 42 afrom exiting the lower portion 42 until a desired point in abeverage-making process. In some embodiments, the outlet covering 164may be scored or otherwise weakened along one or more lines/regionsdefining a preferential opening area. In one embodiment, the scoredregion is X-shaped. In other embodiments, the outlet covering has noweakened regions and is thus uniform in strength. As seen in FIG. 2, anannular groove 163 surrounds the outlet 48. The outlet covering 164extends over both the outlet 48 and the annular groove 163. Inembodiments where the outlet covering has a weakened region, the annulargroove 163 surrounds the weakened region. The annular groove mayprotrude below the bottom wall 422 of the lower portion 42. As will bediscussed below, an annular outlet piercer of a beverage making systemmay be inserted into the annular groove 163, causing the outlet covering164 to tear open along the weakened lines/regions. In some embodiments,insertion of an annular outlet piercer of a beverage making system intothe annular groove 163 may cause quadrants (or other suitably-dividedportions) of the outlet covering 164 to peel back in a radially outwarddirection, exposing the outlet 48.

With the outlet covering 164 opened (or in embodiments where no outletcovering 164 is used), an increase in pressure inside the lower internalspace 42 a, e.g., due to influx of pressurized air or gas into the lowerinternal space through the inlet 47, causes the pressure inside thelower internal space 42 a to exceed the pressure outside the lowerinternal space, creating a pressure differential across the valve 160.The valve 160 opens when a threshold pressure differential is reached.The valve 160 may be any suitable flow control element such as a septumvalve, a check valve, a pressure-opening valve or any other suitablevalve. In some embodiments, the valve is omitted altogether. In someembodiments, the outlet may include either the valve or the outletcovering rather than both. For example, in one embodiment, the outletincludes a cover over an opening at the bottom surface of the cartridge.

It should be appreciated that other arrangements are possible. Forexample, the outlet may include one or more flow control elements suchas a burstable seal that opens with increased pressure in the lowerinternal space 42 a, a membrane that is pierced with a solid rod orneedle-like device rather than an annular piercer, or a peel-off sealthat can be removed by a user or a beverage making system.

Interaction of the cartridge with a beverage making system will now bediscussed. While the cartridges may be used with different beveragemaking systems, FIGS. 9-14 show one beverage making system that may beused with a cartridge 4. FIG. 9 shows an illustrative embodiment of abeverage making system 1 that can be used with a cartridge. In thisembodiment, components of the beverage making system 1 are located in oron a housing 21 which includes a drip tray 23 to support a user's cup orother container 8 and a reservoir 11. In this case, the reservoir 11 isoptionally removable from the housing 21 and contains beverage precursorliquid 2, such as water, that is used to form a beverage dispensed at adispensing station 29 into the user's container 8. The reservoir 11includes a removable lid 11 a that can be removed to provide precursorliquid 2 into the reservoir 11, but such a lid 11 a is not required.Moreover, the reservoir 11 need not be removable and/or may be replacedby a plumbed connection to a mains water source. The beverage precursorliquid 2 can be any suitable liquid, including water (e.g., flavored orotherwise treated water, such as sweetened, filtered, deionized,softened, carbonated, etc.), or any other suitable liquid used to form abeverage, such as milk, juice, coffee, tea, etc. (whether heated orcooled relative to room temperature or not). The reservoir 11 is part ofa beverage precursor supply which provides the precursor liquid 2 forconditioning of some kind, e.g., carbonation, filtering, chilling,mixing with a beverage medium, etc., and subsequent dispensing as abeverage.

As can be seen in FIG. 10, a cartridge 4 containing a gas source and/ora beverage medium may be associated with a cartridge holder 3 of thesystem 1. As discussed previously, the gas source may emit carbondioxide or other gas which is used by the system 1 to carbonate theprecursor liquid, and a beverage medium, such as a flavoring agent, maybe mixed with precursor liquid. In this embodiment, the cartridge 4 maybe associated with the cartridge holder 3 by pulling a sliding drawer131 forwardly to expose a cartridge receiver or receiving area of thedrawer 131. The cartridge 4, which in this case includes an upperportion 41 containing a gas source and a lower portion 42 containing abeverage medium, may be placed in the cartridge receiving area of thedrawer 131 and the drawer 131 closed by sliding to the left in FIG. 10.Thereafter, a user may interact with an interface, such as a touchscreen, button or other device by which the user can cause the system 1to make a beverage. In response, the cartridge holder 3 may clamp thecartridge 4 at the rim 44 located between the upper and lower portions41, 42 by the cartridge holder 3, and the beverage making system mayaccess upper and lower internal spaces 41 a, 42 a (see FIG. 2) to formthe beverage. As is discussed in more detail below, in some embodiments,the cartridge holder is able to hold the upper and lower portions 41, 42of the cartridge 4 in spaces having different pressures (e.g., the upperportion 41 may be held in a more highly pressurized space to receivecarbonating gas than the lower portion 42) and/or able to pierce aninlet of the lower portion 42 at an underside of the rim 44 to accessthe beverage medium (e.g., by injecting pressurized air or other gasinto the lower internal space 42 a, thereby forcing the beverage mediumto exit the cartridge and be dispensed at the dispensing station 29).Since the cartridge 4 may be replaceable, a user may exchange thecartridge 4 to make different beverages, such as carbonated water only,a carbonated and flavored beverage, a still and flavored beverage, etc.

In accordance with an aspect of the invention, a cartridge may be heldby a cartridge holder of a beverage making machine such that an upperportion of the cartridge is held in a space and has a pressure that isdifferent from a space where a lower portion of the cartridge is held.For example, the upper portion may be held in a sealed space arranged toreceive relatively high pressure gas used to carbonate the precursorliquid, while the lower portion is held at ambient pressure. Such anarrangement may help isolate the lower portion from relatively highpressures, e.g., preventing premature dispensing of beverage medium byintroduction of high pressure gas into the lower portion 42. FIGS. 11and 12 show a cross sectional side view of a cartridge holder 3 that maybe included with the system 1 shown in FIGS. 9-10 and which may operatewith a cartridge like that shown in FIGS. 1-3. In this embodiment, alower portion of the cartridge holder includes a sliding drawer 131shown in an open position with a cartridge 4 positioned in a basket 32,i.e., a cartridge receiver. The cartridge may be received in the basket32 so that the rim 44 or other clamping structure rests on an upperledge or surface of the basket 32 so the basket 32 supports the weightof the cartridge 4. With the cartridge 4 in the basket 32, the drawer131 may be moved to a closed position shown in FIG. 12. Thereafter, anupper portion of the cartridge holder 3 may move downwardly to clamp thecartridge 4 in place, e.g., to house the upper portion 41 in a sealedspace. In this embodiment, the upper portion of the cartridge holderincludes a threaded sleeve 34 that carries a piston 36 and can movedownwardly relative to the cartridge 4 so that a lower surface of thepiston 36 contacts the cartridge rim 44 and clamps downwardly on the rim44 to form a seal between the piston 36 and the rim 44. The threadedsleeve 34 and piston 36 move downwardly by rotation of a rotatablesleeve 35 positioned around a part of the threaded sleeve 34.Specifically, a worm gear of a motor drive 37 may engage a gear of therotatable sleeve 35 so that the motor drive 37 can rotate the rotatablesleeve 35 relative to the threaded sleeve 34. Since the rotatable sleeve35 and the threaded sleeve 34 are engaged by a thread connection,rotation of the rotatable sleeve 35 causes the threaded sleeve 34 tomove downwardly (or upwardly, depending on the direction of rotation ofthe rotatable sleeve 35) relative to the cartridge 4.

As the threaded sleeve 34 and the piston 36 move downwardly, the upperportion 41 of the cartridge 4 may be received into the threaded sleeve34/piston 36 until the piston 36 contacts the cartridge rim 44 and urgesthe cartridge 4 to move downwardly against the lower portion of thecartridge holder. This downward movement can cause two actions, i.e.,piercing of the inlet 47 and the outlet 48 of the lower portion 42. Thatis, the basket 32 may be movable in a vertical direction relative to thedrawer 131, yet be spring biased to move upwardly and remain in an upperposition even with the cartridge 4 in the basket 32. However, theclamping force of the upper portion of the cartridge holder (e.g., thethreaded sleeve 34 and piston 36) can overcome the spring bias on thebasket 32, causing the basket 32 and the cartridge 4 to move downwardlyrelative to the drawer 131. As seen in FIG. 13, downward movement of thebasket 32 and cartridge 4 may cause a dispense gas element 33 to contactthe underside of the inlet valve 147 and open the inlet valve 147 sothat the dispense gas element 33 can deliver pressurized gas into thelower internal space 42 a.

A gasket or other seal at the dispense gas element 33 can engage thecartridge 4 at the inlet 47 to form a leak-resistant connection at theinlet 47. As discussed above, the cartridge 4 may have a D-shapedsealing surface 143 (see FIG. 7) surrounding the inlet valve 147 toprovide a seal surface for the beverage making system to engage with toprevent gas leakage. As will also be understood, the dispense gaselement 33 may be connected to a line that provides pressurized gas,e.g., from an air pump. In accordance with an aspect of the invention,the cartridge may be opened at an underside of the rim 44 or otherclamping structure to provide an opening through which pressurized gascan be introduced to move beverage medium out of the lower portion 42.Since the rim 44 or other clamping structure element may be maderelatively robustly to establish a desired seal with the cartridgeholder and to oppose an abutting force of the dispense gas element 33, aremainder of the cartridge 4 may be made out of relatively weak or lessrobust material or construction, e.g., to reduce cost and/or weight ofthe cartridge. Thus, the cartridge may be arranged to allow for reliablepiercing for introduction of pressurized gas into the lower portion 42and sealing with the cartridge holder at the rim 44, yet still decreasematerials requirements.

In another embodiment, the dispense gas element 33 may open the inletvalve 147 simply by applying pressurized gas to the underside of thevalve without needing to physically contact the valve. The valve opensdue to a pressure differential across the valve created by applicationof pressurized gas to the valve underside.

Downward movement of the cartridge 4 and basket 32 may also cause anoutlet piercing element 39 to contact the outlet covering or othercartridge portion at the outlet 48 so that the outlet 48 is opened. Inthis embodiment, the outlet piercing element 39 includes an annular rimthat contacts the outlet covering and is received into an annular grooveof the cartridge 4 above the outlet covering. As discussed above,movement of the outlet piercing element 39 into the annular groove 163stresses the outlet covering 164 such that the membrane, which may bescored or otherwise have a line of weakness that defines a preferentialopening area, tears open along the scored line/line of weakness andbecomes pulled back so the outlet 48 can dispense beverage medium to thedispense station 29. A dispense line 38 for precursor liquid may alsolead to the dispense station 29 so the precursor liquid 2 and beveragemedium can be dispensed together, or separately, into a user's cup 8.

In accordance with an aspect of the invention, a cartridge may be heldby a cartridge holder of a beverage making machine such that an upperportion of the cartridge is held in a space and has a pressure that isdifferent from a space where a lower portion of the cartridge is held.For example, the upper portion may be held in a sealed space arranged toreceive relatively high pressure gas used to carbonate the precursorliquid, while the lower portion is held at ambient pressure. Such anarrangement may help isolate the lower portion from relatively highpressures, e.g., preventing premature dispensing of beverage medium byintroduction of high pressure gas into the lower portion 42.

In accordance with an aspect of the invention, a cartridge may bearranged and held by a cartridge holder of a beverage making machinesuch that downward movement of the upper portion of the cartridge holdermay also cause piercing of the cartridge lid or other action such thatthe upper internal space can be accessed. In this illustrativeembodiment, the piston 36 includes a pair of piercing elements 361arranged to pierce the lid 45 to introduce activating fluid into theupper portion 41, and a piercing element 362 arranged to pierce the lid45 to allow gas emitted by the gas source to exit the cartridge 4. Asseen in FIG. 14, the piercing elements 361 are arranged to penetratethrough the lid 45 and the filter 45 a so that activating fluid can beintroduced below the filter 45 a. However, the piercing element 362 isarranged to pierce only the lid 45, but not the filter 45 a. In thisway, gas emitted in the upper portion 41 must pass through the filter 45a before exiting to the beverage making system. This may help preventgas source material, such as zeolite particles, from exiting thecartridge 4 and passing to a carbonating gas supply of the beveragemaking system. A variety of arrangements are possible for the filter 45a, such as a piece of filter paper mentioned above, a hydrophobicnon-woven material that permits gas to pass, but resists liquid passage,or other element that permits gas to exit the cartridge 4, but resistsmovement of gas source material and/or liquid. In addition oralternately to the filter 45 a, a conduit that receives the carbonatinggas may include a filter element, such as a filter plug in the conduit,to help further resist movement of gas source materials to a carbonationtank of the beverage making system. The piercing elements may include ahollow needle, spike, blade, knife or other arrangement, to form asuitable opening in the cartridge 4. In this embodiment, the piercingelements 361 include tubular elements with an activating fluid dischargeopening at a distal end such that activating fluid can be released fromthe piercing elements 361 below the filter 45 a. In contrast, thepiercing element 362 is relatively dull so as to penetrate the lid 45,but not the filter 45 a. Alternately, the cartridge 4 may have definedopenings, e.g., one or more ports that include a septum or othervalve-type element that permits flow into and/or out of the cartridge 4.

It should be understood that a cartridge holder 3 is not necessarilylimited to the embodiments described herein. For example, the cartridgeholder may open and close in any suitable way to allow cartridges 4 tobe placed in and/or removed from the holder 3. In one embodiment, acartridge holder may include a lid pivotally mounted to a receiverportion of the holder 3, and may be opened and closed manually, such asby a handle and linkage arrangement, or automatically, such as by amotor drive, to close the cartridge holder 3. Of course, the lid may bearranged in other ways, such as being engaged with the cartridgereceiver by a threaded connection (like a screw cap), by the cartridgereceiver moving relative to the lid while the lid remains stationary, byboth the lid and receiver portion moving, and so on. In addition, acartridge holder 3 need not necessarily have a lid and receiverarrangement, but instead may have any suitable member or members thatcooperate to open/close and support a cartridge. For example, a pair ofclamshell members may be movable relative to each other to allow receiptof a cartridge and physical support of the cartridge. Some otherillustrative cartridge holder arrangements are shown, for example, inU.S. Pat. Nos. 6,142,063; 6,606,938; 6,644,173; and 7,165,488. Asmentioned above, the cartridge holder 3 may allow a user to place one ormore cartridges in the holder 3 without the need for the user to takespecial steps to establish a pressure-tight, leak-proof or otherspecialized connection between the cartridge and other portions of thesystem 1. Instead, in some embodiments, the user may be able to simplyplace the cartridge in a receiving space, and close the cartridgeholder.

According to one aspect, the cartridge includes an indexing feature tofacilitate positioning of the cartridge in a properly alignedorientation when inserted into a cartridge holder of a beverage makingsystem. The indexing feature may be formed into the sidewall 420 of thelower portion 42. As seen in FIG. 15, the cartridge 4 includes anindexing feature 46 in the form of a groove, recess or indentation intothe sidewall 420 of the lower portion 42. The indexing feature 46extends from the bottom wall 422 of the lower portion 42 up to the rim44. The indexing feature 46 is laterally curved into the sidewall 420 ofthe lower portion 42 about an axis that may be parallel to the verticalaxis 190 of the lower portion 42. In some embodiments, the indexingfeature 46 is curved about an axis that is slanted relative to thevertical axis 190 of the lower portion 42. In some embodiments, theindexing feature 46 is curved about an axis that is slanted outwardlyaway from the vertical axis 190 of the lower portion 42 as the indexingfeature axis extends from the bottom wall 422 towards the top of thelower portion 42. In other embodiments, the indexing feature is curvedabout an axis that is parallel from the vertical axis 190. The width Wof the indexing feature 46 may taper as the indexing feature 46 extendsfrom the bottom wall 422 towards the top of the lower portion 42.Alternatively, the width W of the indexing feature may taper from thetop of the lower portion 42 towards the bottom wall 422, or may remainconstant.

The indexing feature 46 may be aligned with and/or adjacent the inlet 47of the lower portion 42. In some embodiments, the indexing feature 46 islocated below the inlet 47. In one illustrative embodiment, best seen inFIGS. 2 and 7, where the indexing feature 46 is a recess into thesidewall 420, the rim 44 has a greater overhang distance at the indexingfeature 46 than at the other angular positions of the rim 44. Overhangdistance is measured in the radially outward direction from the sidewall420 to the end of the rim 44. As best seen in FIG. 7, the rim 44 has anenlarged underside area at the indexing feature 46 than at the otherangular positions of the rim 44. In some embodiments, an enlargedunderside area may allow one or more features to be added to theenlarged underside area, such as an inlet. In the illustrativeembodiment shown in FIG. 7, the inlet 47 is located at the portion ofthe rim 44 underside that is enlarged due to the indexing feature 46.However, it should be appreciated that the indexing feature may belocated anywhere on the cartridge 4 and need not be aligned with and/oradjacent the inlet 47.

It should be appreciated that the indexing feature is not limited to thespecific groove shape shown in FIG. 15. For example, the indexingfeature may be a protrusion, an indentation or recess in the top ofbottom of the cartridge, or any other suitable geometry. In some cases,the indexing feature may be incorporated into clamping structure of thecartridge, e.g., one or more gaps between protrusions may be exploitedto ensure proper positioning of the cartridge.

In some embodiments, the cartridge may be modified to provide onlybeverage medium to make a still, flavored beverage, or only a gas sourceto make a carbonated water. Optionally, the cartridge may be configuredto work with the beverage making system described above. For example, asshown in FIGS. 17-18, cartridge 4 is modified to have only a singleportion 42 containing a beverage medium 31. The portion 42 attaches to acap 151. The rim 44 of the lower portion 42 combines with the cap 151 toform a rim 44. As with the lower portion 42 in the embodiment shown inFIGS. 1-8, the portion 42 in the embodiment shown in FIGS. 17-18includes an inlet 47 having an inlet valve 147 and a gas path 150. Wherethe cartridge does not include a gas source, there may be no need tomaintain any part of the cartridge in a sealed space. Thus, the rim orother clamping structure need not be arranged to provide a sealingsurface for engaging with a cartridge holder, but instead may functionto allow the cartridge holder to hold the cartridge in a desiredposition, e.g., to press downwardly on the cartridge to pierce a gasinlet and/or beverage medium outlet of the cartridge. In such a case,simple radially extending tabs or ribs may provide suitable clampingstructure, though other arrangements are possible.

As another example, shown in FIGS. 19-20, cartridge 4 is modified tohave only a single portion 41 containing a gas source 30. The upperportion 41 attaches to a cap 153. As with the upper portion 41 in theembodiment shown in FIGS. 1-8, the portion 41 in the embodiment shown inFIGS. 19-20 includes a top lid 45, a filter 45 a and a bottom wall 49having a peripheral portion 44 c. As seen in FIG. 20, thecircumferential portion 44 a of the upper portion 41, the cap 153, andthe peripheral portion 44 c combine together to form a rim 44.

The cartridge 4 may be made of any suitable materials, and is notnecessarily limited to the constructions shown herein. For example, thecartridge may be made of, or otherwise include, materials that provide abarrier to moisture and/or gases, such as oxygen, water vapor, etc. Inone embodiment, the cartridge may be made of a polymer laminate, e.g.,formed from a sheet including a layer of polystyrene, polypropyleneand/or a layer of EVOH and/or other barrier material, such as a metallicfoil. In one embodiment, the cartridge is injection molded. Moreover,the cartridge materials and/or construction may vary according to thematerials contained in the cartridge. For example, a portion of thecartridge 4 containing a gas source material may require a robustmoisture barrier, whereas a beverage medium portion may not require sucha high moisture resistance. Thus, the cartridges may be made ofdifferent materials and/or in different ways. In addition, the cartridgeinterior may be differently constructed according to a desired function.For example, a beverage medium cartridge portion may include baffles orother structures that cause the liquid/beverage medium to follow atortuous path so as to encourage mixing. The gas source cartridgeportion may be arranged to hold the gas source in a particular locationor other arrangement in the interior space, e.g., to help controlwetting of the gas source with activating liquid. Thus, as used herein,a “cartridge” may take any suitable form, such as a pod (e.g., opposedlayers of filter paper encapsulating a material), capsule, sachet,package, or any other arrangement. The cartridge may have a definedshape, or may have no defined shape (as is the case with some sachets orother packages made entirely of flexible material). The cartridge may beimpervious to air and/or liquid, or may allow water and/or air to passinto the cartridge.

In accordance with one aspect of the invention, the cartridge includesan indicator that is readable by a beverage making system or otherindicator reader. As seen in one illustrative embodiment, seen in FIG.15, cartridge 4 includes an indicator 179 that is readable by a beveragemaking system. As non-limiting, illustrative examples, the indicator maybe an RFID tag, barcode, alphanumeric string, taggant, taggant ink, orother suitable indicator.

The indicator may be used to provide any suitable information to thebeverage making system or to another reader. For example, the indicatormay inform the beverage making system of the type of contents containedwithin the cartridge such as a specific flavor, volume, gas-only orbeverage medium-only, which may cause the beverage making system toperform operation that is suitable for such contents. In someembodiments, the indicator may provide product authentication,expiration information, and/or manufacturing information such as lotnumber and manufacturing facility.

In some embodiments, the indicator may indicate to the beverage makingsystem the carbonation level to be used for the beverage. Afterdetermining the carbonation level from the cartridge 4, a controlcircuit/controller of the beverage making system may control the systemaccordingly. Thus, a user need not select the carbonation level byinteracting with the system 1, but rather a carbonation level may beautomatically adjusted based on the beverage selected. In yet anotherembodiment, a user may be able to select a gas source cartridge 4 thatmatches a carbonation level the user desires. (Different carbonationlevels may be provided in the different cartridges by having differentamounts of gas source in the cartridge 4.) For example, cartridgesproviding low, medium and high carbonation levels may be provided forselection by a user, and the user may pick the cartridge that matchesthe desired carbonation level, and provide the selected cartridge to thesystem 1. Thus, a gas source cartridge labeled “low” may be chosen andused with the system to create a low level carbonated beverage.

A user may alternately be permitted to define characteristics of abeverage to be made by interacting in some way with a cartridge 4 to beused by the system 1. For example, tab, notch or other physical featureof the cartridge may be altered or formed by the user to signify adesired beverage characteristic. For example, a broken tab, sliderindicator, a covered or uncovered perforation on a portion of thecartridge, etc., that is created by the user may indicate a desiredcarbonation level, an amount of beverage medium to use in forming thebeverage (where the system 1 is controllable to use less than all of thebeverage medium in the cartridge to form a beverage), and so on.Features in the cartridge 4 may also be used by the controlcircuit/controller to detect features of the cartridge, a beverage beingformed or other components of the system 1. For example, light guides ina cartridge 4 may provide a light path to allow a controller tooptically detect a level of beverage medium in the cartridge 4, a flowof precursor liquid in the cartridge 4, pressure in the cartridge (e.g.,where deflection of a cartridge portion can be detected and indicates apressure), a position of a piston, valve or other cartridge component,an absence of beverage medium in the cartridge (to signify completion ofbeverage formation), and so on. Other sensor features may beincorporated into the cartridge, such as electrical sensor contacts(e.g., to provide conductivity measurements representative of acarbonation level or other properties of a precursor liquid), anacoustic sensor (to detect gas emission, fluid flow, or othercharacteristics of the cartridge), and so on.

A cartridge may also be arranged to provide a visual or other detectableindication regarding the cartridge's fitness for use in forming abeverage. For example, the cartridge may include a pop-up indicator,color indicator or other feature to show that the gas source shas beenat least partially activated. Upon viewing this indication, a user maydetermine that the cartridge is not fit for use in a beverage makingmachine. In another embodiment, an RFID tag may be associated with asensor that detects gas source activation (e.g., via pressure increase),beverage medium spoilage (e.g., via temperature increase), or othercharacteristic of the cartridge, which may be transmitted to a reader ofa beverage making machine. The machine may display the condition to auser and/or prevent activation of the machine to use the cartridge toform a beverage.

The inventors have appreciated that, after evacuation of beverage mediumfrom the cartridge, residual beverage medium may remain in the cartridgerather than being incorporated into the beverage, and is thus wasted.The inventors have recognized a need for efficient beverage mediumevacuation from the cartridge.

The inventors have recognized that the shape and geometry of theinternal space holding the beverage medium can influence the efficacy ofdispensing beverage medium out of the internal space of the cartridge.In some cases, beverage medium that settles into trenches or grooveswithin the cartridge be difficult to dispense out of the cartridge. Inaddition, beverage medium that settles into portions of the internalspace that are level with or below the height of the flow controlelement of the beverage medium outlet may be difficult to dispense outof the cartridge.

In one aspect of the invention, the entire beverage medium-containinginternal space of the cartridge is above the height of the flow controlelement of the beverage medium outlet. In another aspect of theinvention, any trenches or grooves within the beverage medium-containinginternal space are filled in or otherwise obstructed to prevent beveragemedium from settling into the trenches or grooves.

In one illustrative embodiment, as seen in FIGS. 21A-21B, a cartridgelower portion 42 has an internal space 42 a with a circular trench 310formed at the bottom of the internal space. The trench protrudesdownward to a level that is lower than the height of the outlet valve160. As seen in FIG. 22, with beverage medium 31 held in the cartridgelower portion 42, a portion of the beverage medium 31 settles into thetrench 310. Because this portion of beverage medium is located in atrench and is at a level that is lower than the height of the outletvalve 160, this portion of beverage medium is difficult to dispense outof the cartridge and will likely remain in the cartridge as residualbeverage medium.

According to one aspect, to prevent beverage medium from entering andbeing trapped in the trench 310, the cartridge may include a trenchfiller 312 located in the trench as shown in FIG. 23. The top surface ofthe trench filler 312 may serve as an extension of the bottom wall 422of the cartridge. The bottom wall 422 and trench filler 312 may combineto form a sloped surface that slopes downward toward the outlet 48 toencourage beverage medium to move toward the outlet.

In this illustrative embodiment, the trench filler 312 is a componentthat is formed separately from the cartridge and then inserted into thetrench 310. However, it should be appreciated that other arrangementsare possible. For example, the trench filler 312 may be aninitially-liquid or flowing substance that is poured or otherwise flowedinto the trench 310 to fill in the trench. The initially-liquid orflowing substance may then cure or otherwise solidify. The trench filler312 may be coupled to the cartridge via interference fit, snap fit,mechanical interlock, adhesive, welding, or other suitable couplingarrangement. In another example, the trench filler 312 and the cartridgemay be molded as a single part.

In accordance with another aspect, a flow director such as a hood isused to redirect the flow of beverage medium exiting the cartridge toenable more efficient beverage medium evacuation. Without wishing to bebound by any theory, in some cases, the beverage medium flows out of thecartridge as a continuous stream. In some cases, once the continuity ofthe stream is broken, beverage medium that is upstream from the breakpoint stops moving toward the outlet, and, as a result, remains in thecartridge as residual beverage medium. Air entrainment into the flowstream can serve to break the continuity of the beverage medium streamand cause residual beverage medium to form. In some cases, having a flowdirector such as a hood, plate, or other physical obstruction overlyingan outlet alters the flow profile of beverage medium moving towards andexiting through the outlet in a way that decreases air entrainment. Theflow director may include holes that function as a bottleneck to preventdiscontinuity of the beverage medium stream exiting the cartridge. Insome cases, once the beverage medium stream reaches the necked region ofthe flow director, the stream becomes backed up at the necked region,helping to preserve the continuity of the beverage medium stream.

In addition, without wishing to be bound by any theory, residualbeverage medium may build up at locations in the cartridge furthest awayfrom the outlet. For example, where the outlet is situated at the centerof the cartridge, residual beverage medium may build up at the sides ofthe cartridge. In some embodiments, a flow director may be included andpositioned directly over the outlet. In some cases, the flow directormay direct air pressure out towards the areas of beverage medium buildup to encourage beverage medium to move towards the outlet.

In one illustrative embodiment, as seen in FIG. 23, the cartridge lowerportion 42 includes a flow director 350 that is aligned with the outletvalve 160 of the outlet 48. As best seen in FIG. 24, the flow director350 includes side holes 354 that receive and redirect beverage mediumdownward through the outlet hole 356. In the illustrative embodimentshown in FIG. 24, the flow director 350 has two side holes 354. However,it should be appreciated that more or less side holes may be included.The side holes 354 may be oriented in a direction different from adirection of the outlet hole 356. For example, the side holes 354 may beoriented perpendicular to the outlet hole 356. The flow director 350 hasa top surface 352 that extends over the outlet hole 356. In embodimentswhere side holes 354 are used, the flow director may extend over theside holes 354 as well. In some embodiments, the flow director iscircular. The flow director may be rotationally symmetric. In theembodiment shown in FIG. 24, the flow director is rotationally symmetricand has line symmetry as well.

As seen in FIGS. 25-26, the top surface 352 closes off the top of theflow director 350, prohibiting beverage medium from entering the flowdirector 350 through the top. As a result, beverage medium can only exitthe cartridge by entering the side of flow director 350 through the sideholes 354. In some cases, as discussed above, the top surface 352 mayserve to divert air pressure out toward the sides of the cartridge toencourage movement of beverage medium that has collected at the sides tomove toward the outlet 48. In the illustrative embodiment of FIGS.24-26, the top surface is circular. However, other shapes such as anellipse, square, rectangle, irregular polygon may be used. The topsurface 352 may be larger or smaller in size than that shown in FIGS.25-26. In some embodiments, the top surface 352 has a diameter of about10-30 mm, of about 4-60 mm, or any other suitable diameter. The topsurface 352 overlies the side holes 354. In some embodiments, the topsurface 352 extends radially outwardly beyond the side holes 354.

The flow director 350 may be coupled to the cartridge in a variety ofarrangements. In one illustrative embodiment, shown in FIGS. 23-26, theflow director 350 is coupled to the bottom wall 422 of cartridge lowerportion 42 via a carrier 330. As seen in FIG. 24, the flow director 350includes a first ledge 360 and a second ledge 362 extending radiallyoutward from the flow director sidewall 351. The first ledge 360 is atthe same height as the side holes 354. The second ledge 362 ispositioned below the first ledge 360. In some embodiments, the firstledge 360 extends further in a radially outward direction than thesecond ledge 362. In other embodiments, the ledges 360, 362 extendradially outward by the same distance, and in yet other embodiments, thesecond ledge 362 extends further in the radially outward direction thanthe first ledge 360. In the illustrative embodiment shown in FIG. 24,second ledge 362 extends in a complete circle around the circumferenceof the flow director 350. However, in other embodiments, the secondledge 362 may be a series of protrusions rather than a complete circle.In the illustrative embodiment shown in FIG. 24, first ledge 360 extendsaround the circumference of the flow director 350 but is interrupted bythe side holes 354. In embodiments with more than one side hole, thefirst ledge 360 may extend around the circumference of the flow director350 from one side hole 354 to the other, as shown in FIG. 24. However,in other embodiments, the first ledge 360 may be a series of shorterprotrusions.

As best seen in FIG. 26, the bottom surface of the first ledge 360 abutsagainst and, in some cases, is supported by, the top of a protrusion 332of the carrier 330. The second ledge 362 of the flow director 350 islocated just below the protrusion 332 of the carrier 330. The protrusion332 obstructs the second ledge 362 from upward movement relative to thecarrier 330, and thus the flow director 350 is prohibited from upwardmovement relative to the carrier 330 due to physical interferencebetween the protrusion 332 and the second ledge 362.

As an additional reinforcement or as an alternative, the flow director350 may attach to the carrier 330 via adhesive, welding, physicalinterlock, interference fit, or other suitable attachment arrangement.In some embodiments, the flow director 350 is directly coupled to thewalls of the cartridge, e.g., to bottom wall 422, without a carrier asan intermediary.

It should be appreciated that the flow director may be coupled to thecartridge using different arrangements. For example, instead of thebottom of the flow director being coupled to the cartridge, the topand/or the sides of the flow director may be coupled to the cartridge.

It should also be appreciated that the flow director may differ from thestructure shown in the figures. For example, in one embodiment, the flowdirector may comprise a single plate (top surface 352) that is spacedabove an outlet. The single plate may be suspended from above (e.g., thetop of the single plate is coupled to the cartridge), may be supportedfrom the sides, and/or from the bottom. The plate may overlie and extendradially outwardly beyond one or more outlet holes. The flow directormay not include any side holes at all.

In some embodiments, the flow director 350 may interact with a flowcontrol element of the outlet. In one illustrative embodiment, the flowdirector serves to secure a flow control element of the outlet in place.As best seen in FIGS. 24 and 26, an outlet sidewall 358 of the flowdirector 350 abuts against the top surface of an engagement portion 162of the outlet valve 160. The bottom surface of the engagement portion162 of the outlet valve 160 abuts against a carrier ledge 334 of thecarrier 330. With the engagement portion 162 of the outlet valve 160sandwiched between the flow director sidewall 351 and a carrier ledge334, the outlet valve 160 is held in place. As an additionalreinforcement or as an alternative, the outlet valve 160 may attach tothe flow director 350 and/or the carrier 330 via adhesive, welding,physical interlock, interference fit, or other suitable attachmentarrangement. In some embodiments, the outlet valve 160 is directlycoupled to the walls of the cartridge, e.g., to bottom wall 422 withouta carrier and/or a flow director.

According to one aspect of the invention, the gas source includes acharged adsorbent or molecular sieve, e.g., a zeolite material that hasadsorbed some amount of carbon dioxide gas that is released in thepresence of water, whether in vapor or liquid form. Of course, othercarbon dioxide source materials may be used, such as charcoal or othermolecular sieve materials, carbon nanotubes, metal organic frameworks,covalent organic frameworks, porous polymers, or source materials thatgenerate carbon dioxide by chemical means, such as sodium bicarbonateand citric acid (with the addition of water if the bicarbonate and acidare initially in dry form), or others. In addition, aspects of theinvention are not necessarily limited to use with carbon dioxide gas,but may be used with any suitable gas, such as nitrogen, which isdissolved in some beers or other beverages, oxygen, air, and others.Thus, reference to “carbonation”, “carbon dioxide source” “carbondioxide activating fluid supply”, etc., should not be interpreted aslimiting aspects of the invention and/or any embodiments to use withcarbon dioxide only. Instead, aspects of the invention may be used withany suitable gas.

In one embodiment, the charged adsorbent is a zeolite such as analcime,chabazite, clinoptilolite, heulandite, natrolite, phillipsite, orstilbite. The zeolite may be naturally occurring or synthetic, and maybe capable of holding up to about 20% carbon dioxide by weight or more.The zeolite material may be arranged in any suitable form, such as asolid block (e.g., in disc form), particles of spherical, cubic,irregular or other suitable shape, and others. An arrangement thatallows the zeolite to flow or be flowable, e.g., spherical particles,may be useful for packaging the zeolite in individual cartridges. Suchan arrangement may allow the zeolite to flow from a hopper into acartridge portion, for example, simplifying the manufacturing process.The surface area of the zeolite particles may also be arranged to helpcontrol the rate at which the zeolite releases carbon dioxide gas, sincehigher surface area measures typically increase the gas production rate.Generally, zeolite materials will release adsorbed carbon dioxide in thepresence of water in liquid or vapor form, allowing the zeolite to beactivated to release carbon dioxide gas by the addition of liquid waterto the zeolite.

In one aspect of the invention, the cartridge or cartridges used to forma beverage using the beverage making system may have a volume that isless, and in some cases substantially less, than a beverage to be madeusing the cartridge(s). For example, a cartridge may have upper andlower portions 41, 42 that each have a volume that is about 50-60 ml orless, and yet can be used to form a beverage having a volume of about200-500 ml or more. The inventors have found (as shown in some of theExamples below) that an amount of charged carbon dioxide adsorbent(e.g., a charged zeolite) of about 20-30 grams (which has a volume ofless than 30 ml) can be used to produce about 240-500 ml of carbonatedwater having a carbonation level of up to about 3.5 volumes. Moreover,it is well known that beverage-making syrups or powders having a volumeof less than about 50 ml, or less than about 100 ml, can be used to makea suitably flavored beverage having a volume of about 400-500 ml. Thus,relatively small volume cartridges (or a single cartridge in somearrangements) having a volume of about 100 ml to about 250 ml or lessmay be used to form a carbonated beverage having a volume of about 100to 1000 ml, and a carbonation level of at least about 1.5 to 4 volumesin less than 120 seconds, e.g., about 60 seconds, and using pressures of20-50 psi or more.

Example 1

The release properties of a carbon dioxide adsorbent were measured inthe following way: 8×12 beads of sodium zeolite 13X (such as arecommercially available from UOP MOLSIV Adsorbents) were obtained. Thebeads were placed in a ceramic dish and fired in a Vulcan D550 furnacemanufactured by Ceramco. The temperature in the furnace containing thebeads was raised to 550° C. at a rate of 3° C./min and was held at 550°C. for 5 hours for firing and preparation of the beads for charging withcarbon dioxide.

The beads were removed from the furnace and immediately transferred to ametal container equipped with a tightly fitted lid and entrance and exitports permitting circulation of gas. With the beads sealed in thecontainer, the container was flooded with carbon dioxide gas andpressurized to 15 psig. (Note, however, that experiments have beenperformed between 0-32 psig.) At the end of a hold period, a quantity ofgas had adsorbed to the beads.

A 30 g sample of charged 13X zeolite was measured, and a beaker filledwith 250 ml of water at room temperature of 22° C. The beaker and waterwas placed on a balance and the balance zeroed. The 30 g of chargedzeolite was then added to the beaker and the change in weight versustime was measured. It was shown that the change in weight becameapproximately steady after a period of 50 seconds, and that the beadslost about 4.2 g (14 wt %) of weight attributed to the release of carbondioxide. Of course, some carbon dioxide may have been dissolved into thewater.

Time (sec) Weight (grams) 0 30 25 26.7 50 25.8 75 25.6 100 25.5

Example 2

Charged zeolite 13X was prepared as in Example 1. A 30 g sample of thecharged zeolites was then placed in metal chamber with a water inletport at the bottom and a gas outlet port at the top. The chamber thatheld the zeolites was 34×34 mm in cross-section and had 2 metal filterdiscs with 64 1/16″ diameter holes to retain the zeolite material. Tapwater was then flooded into the bottom of the chamber perpendicular tothe cross-section at an average flow rate of 60 ml/min. Gas evolvedthrough the top outlet port.

The pressure of the gas in the chamber was measured with a pressuregauge and controlled using a needle valve attached to the exit port ofthe gas chamber. The needle valve was set to maintain the chamber at apressure of 35 psig by manually adjusting the valve over the course ofexposing charged zeolites in the chamber to water. Once the valve wasset to an operating pressure, the system would perform repeatably withzeolite samples charged in the same manner.

Example 3

Charged zeolite 13X was prepared as in Example 1. A 30 g sample of thecharged zeolites was then placed in a semi rigid 50 mlpolystyrene-polyethylene-EVOH laminate cup container and thermallysealed with a foil lid. The sealed zeolite cartridges were then placedinto a sealed, metal cartridge chamber and pierced on the top andbottom.

Tap water was introduced at the bottom of the cartridge with the flowcontrolled by a solenoid valve. The solenoid valve was actuated via apressure switch connected to the top gas outlet of the cartridgechamber. During three different tests, the pressure switch was set tothree different operating pressures of 5, 22, and 35 psig. The resultinggas at the set pressures was then introduced into the shellside of ahydrophobic membrane contactor (1×5.5 Minimodule from Liquicel, ofCharlotte, N.C.). The other shellside port was plugged to prevent gasfrom escaping. Water from a reservoir containing 400 ml of water andapproximately 50 g of ice was circulated from the reservoir, through thecontactor, and back to the reservoir using an Ulka (Milan, Italy) typeEAX 5 vibratory pump through the lumenside of the membrane contactor.The pressure of the reservoir and contactor was maintained at the samepressure as the gas was produced. The system produced gas and circulatedthe water for approximately 60 seconds before being stopped.

The resulting carbonated water was then tested for carbonation levelsusing a CarboQC from Anton-Paar of Ashland, Va. The results for areshown in the table below:

Average Carbonation Level System Pressure (psig) (Volumes CO₂ dissolved)10 1.35 22 2.53 35 3.46

Thus, the gas was shown to evolve from the zeolites in the cartridges ata controllable rate (based on water delivery to the cartridge chamber)and then dissolved into water to produce a carbonated beverage. Inaddition, this illustrates the concept that by controlling systempressures one can control the level of carbonation of the finishedbeverage. It is expected that higher system pressures, e.g., of about40-50 psi above ambient, would produce a 4 volume carbonated beverage(having a liquid volume of about 500 ml) in about 60 seconds or less.

Having thus described several aspects of at least one embodiment of thisinvention, it is to be appreciated that various alterations,modifications, and improvements will readily occur to those skilled inthe art. Such alterations, modifications, and improvements are intendedto be part of this disclosure, and are intended to be within the spiritand scope of the invention. Accordingly, the foregoing description anddrawings are by way of example only.

1. A beverage cartridge comprising: a top surface; a bottom surface; alower sidewall extending upwardly from the bottom surface; the topsurface, bottom surface and lower sidewall defining, in part, aninternal space of the cartridge; a rim between the top and bottomsurfaces and having an upper surface and a lower surface extendingoutwardly from the lower sidewall, the internal space of the cartridgeincluding a region between the upper and lower surfaces of the rim, andthe rim being configured for engagement with a cartridge holder of abeverage making machine such that the cartridge holder can engage therim and force the cartridge into a brewing position in the cartridgeholder; a gas inlet located on the lower surface of the rim, the gasinlet comprising a flow control element configured to resist fluidcommunication into the internal space of the cartridge and configured toopen while a clamping force is exerted on the rim by the beverage makingmachine to admit pressurized gas into the internal space of thecartridge to move a beverage medium in the internal space of thecartridge out of the cartridge; and an indexing feature including arecess formed in the lower sidewall and located below the gas inlet torotationally position the gas inlet of the cartridge relative to thecartridge holder, wherein gas introduced via the gas inlet enters intothe region of the internal space of the cartridge between the upper andlower surfaces of the rim.
 2. The beverage cartridge of claim 1,wherein: the internal space of the cartridge includes an upper internalspace and a lower internal space, and the beverage cartridge furthercomprises: an upper portion including the upper internal spacecontaining a gas source, the upper portion including the top surface andan upper sidewall extending downwardly from the top surface to the rim;and a lower portion including the lower internal space containing thebeverage medium, the lower portion including the bottom surface and thelower sidewall extending upwardly from the bottom surface, wherein therim extends radially outwardly from the upper and lower sidewalls,wherein the flow control element is arranged to be opened to admitpressurized gas into the lower internal space to urge the beveragemedium to exit the lower internal space.
 3. The beverage cartridge ofclaim 2, wherein the rim provides first and second clamping surfaces forengagement by the cartridge holder of the beverage making machine todefine a pressure tight seal to contain pressurized gas emitted by thegas source.
 4. The beverage cartridge of claim 1, further comprising alid portion inside the internal space of the cartridge and covering thegas inlet, the lid portion being configured to control flow of gasthrough the gas inlet into the internal space of the cartridge.
 5. Thebeverage cartridge of claim 2, wherein the upper portion includes abottom wall that bounds a bottom of the upper internal space of theupper portion, and separates the upper internal space from the lowerinternal space.
 6. The beverage cartridge of claim 2, wherein the gassource comprises a zeolite gas source arranged to release gas in thepresence of a liquid.
 7. The beverage cartridge of claim 4, furthercomprising a lid that includes the lid portion, wherein the lowersidewall defines an opening that is closed by the lid.
 8. The beveragecartridge of claim 2, wherein the upper portion has a substantiallyfrustoconical shape.
 9. The beverage cartridge of claim 2, wherein thelower sidewall flares upwardly and outwardly from the bottom surface.10. The beverage cartridge of claim 2, wherein the lower portionincludes an outlet located at the bottom surface through which thebeverage medium exits the lower internal space.
 11. (canceled)
 12. Thebeverage cartridge of claim 4, wherein opening of the flow controlelement causes the lid portion to move upwardly relative to the lowersurface of the rim.
 13. The beverage cartridge of claim 12, wherein thegas inlet includes a breakable portion of the rim.
 14. The beveragecartridge of claim 1, wherein the rim is annular and has a thickness.15. The beverage cartridge of claim 1, wherein the recess extends fromthe bottom surface to the lower surface of the rim.
 16. The cartridge ofclaim 1, wherein the flow control element includes a protrusionextending downwardly from the lower surface of the rim, a hinge and abreak region, wherein upward movement of the protrusion relative to therim causes the protrusion to pivot about the hinge and cause the breakregion to detach and open the gas inlet.
 17. The cartridge of claim 16,wherein the protrusion has a slope at a lower surface such that theprotrusion is longer on a side opposite the hinge so as to concentrate abreaking force on the break region when the protrusion is moved upwardlyrelative to the rim.
 18. The cartridge of claim 1, wherein the gas inletincludes a D-shaped sealing region arranged around the flow controlelement, the D-shaped sealing region arranged to engage with a portionof the cartridge holder to form a gas-tight seal with the portion of thecartridge holder when admitting pressurized gas into the internal space.19. The cartridge of claim 1, further comprising a gas path arranged todirect gas entering the cartridge at the gas inlet to the internalspace, the gas path including a restriction to resist movement ofbeverage medium in the cartridge to the gas inlet.
 20. A beveragecartridge comprising: a top surface; a bottom surface; a lower sidewallextending upwardly from the bottom surface, the top surface, bottomsurface and lower sidewall defining, in part, an internal space of thecartridge; a clamping structure between the top and bottom surfaces andhaving a lower surface extending outwardly from the lower sidewall, theclamping structure arranged for engagement with a cartridge holder of abeverage making machine such that the cartridge holder can engage theclamping structure and force the cartridge into a brewing position inthe cartridge holder; a gas inlet located on the lower surface of theclamping structure, the gas inlet comprising a flow control elementconfigured to resist fluid communication into the internal space of thecartridge and configured to open while a clamping force is exerted onthe clamping structure by the beverage making machine to admitpressurized gas into the cartridge to move a beverage medium in theinternal space of the cartridge out of the cartridge; a lid portioninside the internal space of the cartridge and covering the gas inlet,the lid portion being configured to control flow of gas through the gasinlet into the internal space of the cartridge; and an indexing featureincluding a recess formed in the lower sidewall and located below thegas inlet to rotationally position the gas inlet of the cartridgerelative to the cartridge holder.
 21. The cartridge of claim 20, whereinthe clamping structure includes one or more protrusions extendingoutwardly from the lower sidewall.
 22. A beverage cartridge for forminga carbonated beverage, comprising: an upper portion including a topsurface and an upper sidewall extending downwardly from the top surface,the top surface and upper sidewall defining, in part, an upper internalspace; a lower portion including a bottom surface and a lower sidewallextending upwardly from the bottom surface, the bottom surface and lowersidewall defining, in part, a lower internal space, the upper and lowerinternal spaces being part of an internal space of the cartridge; a rimspaced from and positioned between the top and bottom surfaces, the rimhaving an upper surface extending radially outwardly beyond the uppersidewall and a lower surface extending radially outwardly beyond thelower sidewall, the upper and lower surfaces providing first and secondclamping surfaces for engagement by a cartridge holder of a beveragemaking machine to define a pressure tight seal to contain pressurizedgas emitted by the gas source, and the internal space including a regionbetween the upper and lower surfaces of the rim; a gas inlet located onthe lower surface of the rim, the gas inlet comprising a flow controlelement configured to resist and enable fluid communication into thelower internal space; wherein at least a portion of the upper internalspace overlies at least a portion of the lower internal space, andwherein, while a clamping force is exerted on the rim by the beveragemaking machine, the flow control element is upwardly moveable relativeto the lower surface of the rim into the region of the internal spacebetween the upper and lower surfaces to admit pressurized gas into thelower internal space to urge the beverage medium out of the lowerinternal space.
 23. The beverage cartridge of claim 22, wherein theupper portion includes an upper rim portion, the lower portion includesa lower rim portion, and the upper and lower rim portions are joinedtogether to form the rim.
 24. The beverage cartridge of claim 23,further comprising a coupling member attached to the upper and lower rimportions.
 25. The beverage cartridge of claim 24, wherein the upper andlower rim portions each include a circumferential portion at a radiallyouter end of the upper and lower surfaces of the rim, respectively. 26.The beverage cartridge of claim 22, further comprising a lid portioninside the internal space and covering the gas inlet, the lid portionbeing configured to control flow of gas into the internal space of thecartridge.
 27. The beverage cartridge of claim 22, wherein the first andsecond clamping surfaces are annular.
 28. The beverage cartridge ofclaim 22, wherein the lower portion includes an outlet located at thebottom surface of the lower portion through which the beverage mediumexits the lower internal space.
 29. The beverage cartridge of claim 22,wherein the lower portion has an indexing feature that includes a recessin the lower sidewall.
 30. (canceled)
 31. The beverage cartridge ofclaim 20, further comprising a lid that includes the lid portion,wherein the lower portion includes an opening that is closed by the lid.32. The beverage cartridge of claim 20, wherein opening of the flowcontrol element causes the lid portion to move upwardly relative to thelower surface of the clamping structure and allow fluid communicationthrough the gas inlet into the internal space.